New poll finds just a fifth of people trust price comparison sites

New poll finds just over a fifth of people think energy price
comparison websites are trustworthy - down from two fifths last
year

86% think the sites should automatically show lowest price tariffs
regardless of whether the site receives commission or not

70% think it's a good idea that sites should publish how much money
they make in commission per switch

Consumer collective The Big Deal, has today (12 February 2015)
published new opinion research which shows that trust has fallen in
price comparison sites and suggests the public want more honesty
and transparency in their behaviour.

The polling, carried out by YouGov, found:

Huge majority of people (86%) says price comparison sites
should ensure every user sees the lowest price tariffs regardless
of whether they receive a commission or not from the supplier. Just
3% disagree.

70% say it's a good idea for sites to publish how much money
they make in commission per switch. Just 4% disagree.

Just 22% say these sites are trustworthy when it comes to
providing impartial information.

This is down from 39% when the same question was asked by
Populus in July last year.

Almost a third of people (30%) are unaware that switching sites
are paid by energy companies for each switch. Though this has gone
down from 43% when asked the same question in July last year.

It comes as The Big Deal has revealed that the Big Five price
comparison sites (uSwitch, Go Compare, Compare the Market,
MoneySupermarket and Confused) all hid the cheapest deals online
and over the phone. The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
of MPs is investigating the Big Five sites for this behaviour. This
week the Big Deal created the cheapest energy on the market thanks
to the bargaining power of its 45,000 members and its low
commission. The Big Deal's tariff is the cheapest tariff since 2010
and is not available on price comparison sites and is better than
any tariff on price comparison sites.

Will Hodson, Co-founder of The Big Deal, said:
"It's no wonder that the Big Five price comparison sites are losing
trust when they have been caught hiding deals online and over the
phone. Ludicrously they claim they are "impartial" and "consumer
champions". This poll shows that the public strongly agrees with us
that these sites must start acting honestly and transparently. They
must stop hiding deals they don't get paid for and publish how much
their commissions are."

Full questions from the YouGov poll are copied below. Results in
brackets are from when the same questions were asked by Populus in
July 2014.

1. In much the same way as you can use a comparison website to
compare prices on insurance, financial products, and different TV
and broadband offers, there are also comparison websites which
compare the costs of your energy bills (e.g. gas and electricity),
for example Compare the Market, uSwitch, GoCompare etc. These are
also known as 'energy switching sites'. The way that energy
switching sites tend to operate, is that energy companies enter
into commercial contracts with these websites whereby they pay a
commission fee to the energy switching site for each person who
switches energy tariff on that website. Were you aware or unaware
that energy switching sites make money in this way?

Aware: 70% (57%)

Unaware: 30% (43%)

2. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement:
Energy switching sites should automatically ensure every user sees
the lowest priced tariffs whether they receive a commission fee
from the supplier or not

Agree: 86%

Disagree: 3%

Neither agree or disagree: 11%

3. Currently energy switching sites do not publish how much they
charge energy companies in commission. Some people argue that
commission fees are private between the energy company and the
energy switching site and should not be published. Others say that
consumers have the right to know how much commissions are and this
should be transparent and published. To what extent do you think it
is a good or a bad idea that energy switching sites should clearly
publish how much money they make in commission per switch from each
energy provider?

Good idea: 70% (74%)

Bad idea: 4% (5%)

Neither a good or bad idea: 26% (21%)

4. To what extent would you consider energy switching sites to be
trustworthy or untrustworthy with regards to providing you with
impartial information about current energy deals that may be
available to you?

Trustworthy: 22% (39%)

Not trustworthy: 42% (47%)

Don't know: 37% (14%)

All figures for 2015, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov
Plc. Total sample size was 2,175 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken
between 6th - 9th February 2015. The survey was carried out online.
The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB
adults (aged 18+).

2014 data is from Populus who interviewed a random sample of 1002
GB adults aged 18+ from its online panel between 23-24 July 2014.
Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been
weighted to the profile of all adults. Populus is a founder member
of the British Polling Council and abides by its
rules.

For further information contact Henry de Zoete on 07970323112 /
henry@thisisthebigdeal.com

About The Big Deal

The Big Deal is a consumer collective focused on reducing people's
energy bills. We bring together tens of thousands of consumers and
use our collective buying power to create market-leading exclusive
deals. We also cut our commission way below industry average to
ensure the cheapest possible tariff for our members.

Launched in March 2014, it now has over 40,000 members and
continues to grow. 62% of our members have never or hardly ever
switched before - these are the very people who have been let down
by the energy market. Moreover, 60% of our members are over the age
of 55 and 30% over the age of 65.

Our policy has been to cut the commission we receive in order to
get the best deal for our members. The deals we create are cheaper
than anything on comparison sites. Our collective switch in October
2014 saved the British public £1.5 million, with an average saving
of £303 per household (higher than any other collective switch).
10% of our switchers saved over £475.

The Big Deal charges a commission to energy companies but unlike
price comparison sites is entirely transparent about exactly how
much. For this switch it is charging £12.50 per fuel - £25 for a
dual fuel switcher. This compares to £80 to £100 for a dual fuel
switcher that it has been reported the Big Five price comparison
sites charge.

On 20th October 2014, The Big Deal published research that showed
that the Big Five switching websites (Go Compare, Compare the
Market, MoneySupermarket, uSwitch and Confused) all hide the
cheapest deals from users because they don't get paid by energy
companies for them. The full research including over 200
screenshots taken over 13 weeks can be found at:
https://thisisthebigdeal.com/blog/research-into-price-comparison-websites

On 2nd February 2015, The Big Deal published similar research
except into activity over the phone that found that all the Big
Five switching websites (Go Compare, Compare the Market,
MoneySupermarket, uSwitch and Confused) hid the cheapest deal when
talking to customers. uSwitch subsequently apologised but the rest
of the Big Five refused to do so.